Reply #12: I'll simply conveying to you how it was perceived at the time

[imenja]

Which is what you asked. You did not ask for a historical assessment of his presidency. Carter seemed unable to deal with the hostage crisis because the hostages were in Iranian custody so long. He gave speeches saying the economy was in permanent decline and we needed to deal with it. I'm not saying he was personally weak, I'm saying he was unpopular. People felt he was an ineffective president. His approval ratings were very low.

Now you can examine historical sources to put things in a different context, but that is not what your OP asked. You asked why he was unpopular, and as someone who lived through that time I can tell you. I voted for Carter in his reelection bid, the first time I ever voted. Obviously I was in the minority. I also seriously doubt that any historians will rank him in the top quarter of US presidents.

So if you want to argue people didn't know what they were doing, fair enough. But to imagine this was all the result of the Christian right is absurd. That group simply did not have much power in those days. The country was a very different place.

Carter is an example of the fact that just because someone is a good person, does not make him a great president.